The Twelve Days of Percabeth
by silentwolf111
Summary: A series of Percabeth one-shots, one for each of the 12 days of Christmas. (Warning: contains lots of lovey-dovey, cutesy gonna-make-you-barf fluffy stuff. Proceed with caution.)
1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree

**A/N: Hey everyone! I can't believe it's almost the Holidays! **

**Well, literally speaking, that's totally a lie, since every single day is a holiday! (If you've read some of my A/Ns in my other stories, you'd know that I'm not joking.) As a matter of fact, today I'd like to wish you all a HAPPY NATIONAL BOUILLABAISSE DAY (DEC 14)! **

**So, cute story: I was listening to some Christmas music while rereading the MoA, when suddenly "The Twelve Days of Christmas" came on. I'd been wanting to write a Christmas story for some time now but never came up with a good idea; so when that song came on (while I was coincidentally reading some PJO), I thought it might be a cute idea to somehow combine the two. The result: the Twelve Days of Percabeth, a series of one-shots about – well, you guessed it – Percabeth! Each one-shot corresponds with one of the Twelve Days of Christmas, so that means that... for the first time in, like, _forever..._ I will be updating daily!**

**But first, before we can get to the story, there's one little thing missing... I'll give you a hint: it starts with a "D" and ends in "-isclaimer". And, if you know me well enough, you know I'd stick with tradition and phrase it in the form of a haiku:**

_**I don't own Percy**_

_**Jackson; Annabeth does. And**_

_**(sadly) I'm not her.**_

**Yeah, and I'm not Rick Riordan either, so there's no _way_ I own Percy Jackson (alas, all dreams do not come true).**

**There, now that that's been established, let's get into the swing of things, shall we? This particular one-shot takes place right after TLO. **

**And now, my dear readers, the moment you've all been waiting for (that is, if you've actually read the entirety of this huge Author's Note).**

**Presenting Day 1 of the Twelve Days of Percabeth: A Partridge in a Pear Tree!**

**Peace out,**

**~silentwolf111**

**(P.S. I just realized that I have 7 pairs of parentheses in this A/N, including this one. Wow.)**

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

_~ A Partridge in a Pear Tree ~_

.oOo.

* * *

><p><strong>-Percy's POV-<strong>

We all have our weaknesses.

Yeah, I know, it's about time I figured that out. But hey, in my defense, when you're a demigod you kinda tend to forget that sometimes.

See, when you live a life surrounded by people who display amazing feats of bravery every single day and are simply trained not to show fear, it's really easy to forget that deep down, they're capable of being broken too. I mean, it's totally normal to show some emotion, since we are only human after all (or, in our case, _half_ human – that counts too, right?), but it doesn't make the fact at hand any less surprising.

Also, it's not often that you hear someone crying at Camp. If one of us ever breaks down, then that means something must be seriously wrong.

So when I heard the faint sobbing after the campfire one night, I couldn't help but just pause for a second.

I quickly looked around, but it didn't seem like anyone was there. It sounded like the sobbing was coming from directly above me, but when I glanced up at the trees I saw no one there.

It was then that I realized the sobbing had suddenly stopped.

At that point, I figured that either my imagination had been playing tricks again or some random wood nymph was trying to prank me; either way, I turned to walk away like nothing had happened. As I turned around, I suddenly heard the snap of a tree branch and a familiar voice uttered a Greek curse in frustration.

I looked toward the source of the sound, and my eyes were immediately drawn to one particular tree whose branches were slightly bouncing up and down as if they were carrying a heavy weight.

I stepped closer toward the tree and peered upward.

"Annabeth," I called in a hushed whisper. "I know it's you."

The branches abruptly stopped bouncing at my words, causing the leaves to rustle sharply.

I rolled my eyes.

"Wise Girl, you can take off your cap now. It's just me."

After a moment, she shimmered into existence, one arm firmly wrapped around a thick branch and the other grasping her Yankees cap.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth answered softly, her voice quavering as her lips formed into a slight smile. "You know, the reason I'm up here is because I wanted a little privacy –"

"But then I came along," I finished for her with a grin as I started climbing the tree. "You're lucky you have such a reliable boyfriend, finding a pretty damsel in distress in this, her time of need."

"Oh, shut up, Seaweed Brain."

She smiled back at me, but the smile faded as soon as it had come and her expression turned solemn once more.

I carefully made my way over to where she sat and gently wrapped an arm around her.

She let out a light sniffle and turned to look at me, and in the moonlight I noticed that her stormy gray eyes were puffy and blurry with tears. Her nose and cheeks were tinged with a light red hue from crying and her blonde curls were tied back in a messy ponytail, loose strands hanging down everywhere. She hadn't bothered to change out of her dirty camp t-shirt, and her ripped jeans had mud splattered all over them. It was as if she couldn't have cared less about her appearance, yet to me she'd never looked more beautiful.

That was my Wise Girl; beautiful as always.

I wiped off a tear that had made its way down the side of her face and cupped her cheek in my hand.

"Annabeth," I said with concern. "What's wrong?"

She blinked back tears and sighed.

"I miss them, Percy," she said in a small voice. "Silena, Beckendorf, Luke, all the others – I spent my entire _life_ growing up with them. We'd been through so much together. Sometimes I just forget that they're gone, you know?"

Annabeth looked up at the stars as another tear glided down to her cheek.

"Gods, all of this just feels so… _unreal._"

She fiddled with the college ring on her necklace and let out a small laugh.

"Oh, who am I to kill the mood when we just won the war? I mean, if you think about it, death is only natural, especially in our case. It's all just part of the inevitable circle of life. With the exception of the gods, of course, nothing lasts forever; not you, not me, not anyone.

She sighed and allowed another tear to escape from her eyes.

"Nothing lasts forever," she repeated softly. "And for some reason, I'm having such a hard time accepting that."

"Hey," I said, trying to reassure her, "it's not your fault that you're upset; losing someone you care about really sucks. I lost a ton of friends in the war, too. And, what's more, knowing that a good number of these guys died for _me?_ That sucks big time."

A brief moment of silence passed.

"But, you know, Annabeth," I said, "they're not gone forever. None of them are. You can count on Chiron and the rest of us to help their memory live on. And I'll bet you anything that Luke, Silena, and Beckendorf themselves are in Elysium right now, along with all the others who died in the war. I'll bet they're there right this second, happy as can be."

I slipped my hand in hers.

"And if it makes you feel any better," I said softly, "just remember that, someday, both you and I will be there to join them."

Annabeth let out a soft sniffle.

"Yeah," she said. "I guess so. But although that's comforting to know, that doesn't help the fact that they're not right _here_,right _now_. I miss them, Percy, and there's really nothing you can do about it."

With that, she turned to look at me again.

When my eyes met hers, I was able to see past those stormy gray walls and look into her true essence; instead of the brave, fearless daughter of Athena I had grown to love, what I saw at that moment was a mere girl whose heart had been shattered by loss. I saw a girl who had been through so much at such a young age, yet had still managed to stay strong for those she loved.

Most of all, I saw a girl who just needed a shoulder to cry on.

"No, you're wrong," I said to Annabeth, "I think there _is_ something I can do."

And at that moment, the two of us perched on a tree branch under the glistening stars, I took her hand in mine, closed my eyes, and gently pressed my lips against hers.


	2. Two Turtle Doves

**A/N: Hey everyone! Not too much to day today, except for have a happy BILL OF RIGHTS DAY and NATIONAL LEMON CUPCAKE DAY (DEC. 15)!**

**Hope you all enjoy this next chapter; this oneshot takes place after TTC.**

**Peace out,**

**~silentwolf111**

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

_~ Two Turtle Doves ~_

.oOo.

* * *

><p><strong>-Annabeth's POV-<strong>

"And this would be sage, correct?" I say, pointing to a small shrub nearby.

"Correct," Katie replies with a smile. "You can tell by the leathery texture of the leaves, see? And, also, there's this…"

She bends over and rubs a leaf between her thumb and index finger, then gives it a light sniff.

I do the same and instantly smell the leaf's fragrant aroma.

"Lemon," I say.

"Sage's trademark smell," Katie confirms. "You can check that one off the list."

I pick up my clipboard and draw a line through the word "sage".

Earlier today, Lee Fletcher had approached the two of us with a request on behalf of the Apollo cabin; they were running short on medicinal herbs, he had said, and he then promptly proceeded to ask us if we could go gather some for him from the woods. Out of the sheer goodness of our hearts (that, and the fact that we had already finished the day's activities), we agreed to do it. He'd handed Katie a bag and me a clipboard with a list of the needed herbs, and that was that.

We had already found most of the herbs on the list thanks to Katie, who, being a daughter of Demeter, was a natural expert on all things _plant_.

I run through the remaining plants on the list and put the clipboard back down. Katie picks a few leaves of sage off the shrub and puts them into the bag just as I suddenly spot something that catches my attention.

"Katie," I say as I kneel down to examine a leafy plant a few feet away. "Is this what I think it is?"

She comes over and kneels beside me, squinting at the plant.

"Now _that's_ interesting," she says. "I mean, I've never seen it around here before, but there's no denying it; it's got the small, white flowers and everything. Annabeth, this is _mistletoe."_

"Quick question," I say as she picks off a branch to examine it closer. "If it's never been seen here before, then what, exactly, is it doing here?"

"I don't know. Since it's December, maybe someone filled with the spirit of Christmas decided to plant it here. You know, to spread the _love._"

I laugh.

"That could be a possibility," I say. "In any case, this all seems really inter-"

I am abruptly cut off by a sudden burst of laughter in the distance.

Katie sets down the mistletoe and the two of us step out of the woods to look for the source of the laughter. I manage to catch a glimpse of messy jet-black hair, and my heart skips a beat when I realize who it is.

Sure enough, Percy Jackson and Grover casually walk past us, chatting and laughing about Zeus-knows-what.

Grover suddenly pauses when he sees us and gives a slight bow.

"Ladies," he acknowledges with a grin as Percy elbows him playfully.

"Oh, come on, dude," Percy laughs. "No need to be so formal with these two. I mean, it's not like they're super important or anything."

Katie rolls her eyes.

"It's lovely to see you too, Percy," she says with a sigh, though she can't resist a small smile.

"Hey, Katie," he replies, breaking into a grin.

It's then that Percy turns toward me, and I feel my heart start to flutter as gray meets sea-green.

"Wise Girl," he acknowledges, lips formed into that annoying smile of his.

"Seaweed Brain," I reply curtly, looking him directly in his eyes.

We hold each other's gaze for a couple of seconds, and I find myself strangely entranced by those sea-green orbs that I know so well. Those kaleidoscopic eyes were mesmerizing, currently peering at me with their usual playful expression that, over the past years, had become so familiar to me.

I quickly shake my head and blink, shaking myself out of my stupor as I realize I've been staring at Percy for a split second too long.

"So," I say, trying with all my might to prevent my cheeks from turning bright red, "where are you two headed?"

Percy opens his mouth to speak when he is suddenly cut off by Grover.

"The Mess Hall," he says dreamily, a huge smile filling his face.

"Yeah," Percy adds. "We're just going to grab a light snack before we head off to the arena for a little training."

"Of course," Katie says. "I'm not surprised. With you two, there's almost always food involved."

"Well, yeah, why wouldn't there be?" Grover says. "Now, if you'll excuse us, ladies, my stomach has a raging hunger that can only be satisfied with some food. Like, right _now."_

With that, he turns to walk away briskly, grabbing Percy's arm and pulling him along.

"Catch you later, Katie," Percy calls out while he's being dragged away. "See ya, Wise Girl!"

We wave goodbye to the boys and watch them leave until they round the corner and are no longer in sight. Katie and I step back into the woods, and I've only just picked up my clipboard when Katie suddenly speaks.

"Admit it. You're totally falling for him."

I suddenly turn to the left, scowling as I catch sight of her smirking at me.

"I am _not!"_

Katie rolls her eyes and scoffs loudly.

"Oh, come on, Annabeth. I don't even have to be an Aphrodite kid to see it, it's that obvious. The _entire camp_ knows, for the gods' sake. It's about time that you figure it out yourself and admit to your own feelings."

"Well," I say, my arms crossed. "You see, I would own up to my feelings, except there happens to be one tiny problem; there _are_ none."

"You know, Annabeth," Katie replies softly, "it's okay to love someone. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I know that you won't admit it, but I, for one, am absolutely sure that you have feelings for Percy Jackson."

I raise an eyebrow and utter only two words.

"_Prove it."_

"I can see it in the way you look at him," Katie says matter-of-factly. "You get lost in his eyes and kinda zone out for a few seconds."

"Well, but-"

"You have cute nicknames for each other," she continues, counting out on her fingers.

"Okay, but that's not-"

"You have matching gray streaks in your hair."

"All right, but I still don't see-"

"For the love of Zeus, Annabeth, you kissed him on the cheek after the two of you won the chariot races!"

I didn't even bother speaking this time.

"Plus, you two have been through so much together throughout the past three years; it's impossible to consider yourselves as nothing more than just _friends," _Katie finishes. "Admit, it, Annabeth: you are in love with Perseus Jackson."

I fall silent and, for the first time, actually consider her words.

Was it true? Did I love Percy?

Logically speaking, I was sure I felt _something_ toward him; after all, it's not every day that someone makes me totally space out just by looking into their eyes.

But did I _love _him?

I mean, now that I start to think about it, it couldn't possibly be true. Granted, Percy's not the wisest of the bunch, but I absolutely hate the way he acts like a total moron. On purpose. He asks the most stupid questions at the most stupid times, and he's made it pretty clear that he lacks a common sense filter.

But, on the other hand, there's a lot to appreciate about the guy. He's courageous and willing to risk it all to help out those he loves. He's an excellent swordsman, I'll give him that. He's funny and knows just what to say to make people smile. And, he's even – dare I say it – pretty, well, _cute._

Okay, so what if Katie's right? I can't help it that Percy has such mesmerizing eyes and an attractive personality and just _happens_ to be fairly good-looking. If anything, it's the fault of none other than Seaweed Brain himself.

"Stupid Seaweed Brain," I mutter under my breath.

Katie smirks at me from where she stands.

"So," she says, "is that a yes?"

For some reason, her words suddenly spark a strange feeling at the bottom of my heart, and I find myself overcome with a wave of emotion.

"Fine, okay?" I say loudly, throwing my arms in the air in exasperation. "I love him. There, I said it. I love Percy Jackson!"

The reality of what I've just declared hits me in the face all at once, and I let out a small gasp.

"I love him," I whisper to myself. "I love him."

I look up to see Katie smiling at me knowingly, an _I-told-you-so_ expression displayed proudly on her face.

"Katie," I say softly. "What… What do I do now?"

She gives me a slight nod.

"Leave that to me," she says, her smile growing.

She steps out of the woods and motions for me to follow her, and I immediately see what – or, more specifically, _who – _she's walking toward.

Percy and Grover have returned from the Mess Hall and once again pass by us as Katie suddenly steps forward.

"Hey, Percy!" she calls out.

Both boys stop dead in their tracks and Percy looks over at us.

"What's up?"

"Come here for a moment, would you?" Katie says.

He gives her a curious look but nods, and Katie leads him over to where I'm standing.

She then does something unexpected; she reaches into our bag of herbs, pulls something out, and holds it over our heads.

I look up at what she's holding and my eyes widen when I catch sight of the small white flowers we'd seen just moments ago.

_Mistletoe._

Percy realizes it too, and I see a mischievous smile appear on his face.

And then, all of a sudden, I feel his lips against mine.

_Oh, my gods… _

My heart starts pounding madly as I come to terms with what's happening.

At first, it feels so unnatural that I restrain myself from kissing him back, but then something funny happens.

Percy wraps his arms around me, and suddenly, despite everything my instinct was telling me… I stop holding back.

I let myself give in to the kiss, and my eyes close as I wrap my arms around Percy's shoulders. I sink deeper and deeper into his lips, smiling as I relish the moment.

Needless to say, I no longer doubted my feelings for Percy. Katie was right, all of them were right. They'd been right all along, but I'd just been too blind to see it; I loved Perseus Jackson.

I loved him.

I loved him, and he loved me...

…Yeah, this could take some getting used to.

But the strange thing?

I was all right with that.


	3. Three French Hens

**A/N: Hey guys! Again, not much to say today except happy NATIONAL CHOCOLATE-COVERED ANYTHING DAY (DEC. 16)!**

**Here's the third one-shot. In this one, I took the liberty of reinterpreting the song and focused a bit more on the "French" part rather than the "hen" part... kinda. You'll see what I mean. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Peace out,**

**~silentwolf111**

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

_~ Three French Hens ~_

.oOo.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third Person POV-<strong>

He caught sight of her hair first.

And how could he not? It was a sight that was impossible to miss. He'd seen a flash of yellow through the bare tree branches, and when he'd moved to get a closer look, that flash of yellow had turned into the rich golden-blonde strands that were her shiny locks.

They tumbled down her back in princess-like curls, the lighter strands so beautifully highlighted by the rays of the setting sun. He'd stopped for a second in wonder of her beauty for what he considered the bajillionth time.

Of course, he knew that if he told her that, she'd then promptly proceed to tell him that a "bajillion" isn't actually a real number.

Then she'd call him a Seaweed Brain, to which he'd respond with a grin and a "Wise Girl".

It was a part of their relationship he'd grown to love.

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

* * *

><p>Naturally, he noticed her surroundings next.<p>

He saw her innocently perched on top of Half-Blood Hill, sitting with a book in her lap, as usual. He also noticed the Cherokee girl sitting next to her with the caramel skin and the braids in her hair. But, even though the other girl was a daughter of Aphrodite, _she_ was still prettier. Her beauty, he believed, outshined that of anybody in existence.

She was prettier than any mortal, demigod, or god – including Aphrodite herself.

Heck, for all he knew, he could have very well mistaken her for a daughter of Aphrodite as well.

But, once again, if he told her that, he knew he would receive a stern glare and a prompt "Seaweed Brain". Knowing her, she'd take it as an insult to her intellect, as she believed most children of Aphrodite weren't intelligent in the least bit.

And they weren't, really. At least compared to her.

But, then again, _nobody_ at Camp was considered intelligent compared to her.

And that's just the way she liked it.

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

* * *

><p>He observed her body next – more specifically, the scars that were displayed on her arms and legs from the many battles she'd been a part of.<p>

She had scrapes and scratches of all kinds, scars of all shapes and sizes on her limbs. She even had a couple on her face, but she didn't try to hide them with makeup like all the other girls did.

He personally liked that; to him, it made her somehow seem more attractive. Her scars made her look more human. More _real._

He remembered where she had gotten many of those scars. He had similar ones all over his own arms and legs, and, after all, she had been right by his side when she'd gotten them.

She was _always_ right by his side. It had been that way for every battle he'd ever fought in, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

It was what they were both comfortable with; they knew each other's strengths and figured that, in their case, two was always better than one. Which he totally agreed was true.

As he observed her various battle scars, he realized that her wearing short jeans shorts and a t-shirt meant that she wasn't trying to cover them up at all; he figured she was somewhat proud of those scars.

And why shouldn't she be?

He knew _he_ was proud of those scars.

He was proud of those scars, and he was proud of her.

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

* * *

><p>He walked over to where she was sitting and sat himself down right next to her.<p>

She immediately looked up from the book and switched her gaze to him, and he couldn't help but notice her eyes.

The rays of the setting sun made her stormy gray irises sparkle and gleam, adding a sense of magic to her gaze.

He didn't even know it was possible for her eyes to appear even _more _beautiful, yet in that moment, they did.

It amazed him that these gorgeous eyes were capable of expressing so many different emotions; they were at times so soft and warm, but immediately turned steely and cold when she was upset. She easily had both the most beautiful smile and most frightening glare out of everyone at Camp.

He knew it himself, for he had been on the receiving end of both her smile and her glare. The latter wasn't exactly an experience he wanted to remember.

But the former, however; her smile was an image he wanted in his mind forever.

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

* * *

><p>He observed the book that both she and the girl with the braids were hunched over.<p>

It was written in another language, one that wasn't English or Greek or even Latin.

He grabbed the book from her lap and playfully attempted to read from it.

As he expected, both girls instantly reprimanded him with cries of, "No, not '_jew maple'! _It's pronounced '_j__e m'appelle'_."

Then he was called a Seaweed Brain. As he always did, he responded with the usual "Wise Girl".

_She_ then leaned over to the girl with the braids and asked her a question he couldn't make out.

When the other girl whispered the answer back in her ear, she turned back to him and replied, _"__Tu baves quand vous dormez."_

When he raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked what she had just said to him, she gave him a sly smile.

"You drool in your sleep."

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

* * *

><p>As he sat by her, he took in everything at once – her hair, her surroundings, her battle scars, her eyes, her knack for foreign language – all of this made up one beautiful, perfect being.<p>

While thinking about this, he found that he couldn't help but smile;

Because he knew that it was all _his._


	4. Four Calling Birds

**A/N: Hello everyone! Happy NATIONAL MAPLE SYRUP DAY (DEC. 17)! **

**Here's the 4th one-shot. Similarly to the last chapter, I interpreted the song a little differently and focused more on the "calling" part than the "birds" part. Once again, you'll hopefully see what I mean. :)**

**Enjoy this next chapter!**

**Peace out,**

**~silentwolf111**

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

_~ Four Calling Birds ~_

.oOo.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third Person POV-<strong>

Relief; that was all Annabeth felt in the moment.

Pure, utter, _wonderful_ relief.

She stood in the middle of the airport, wrapped in the warm embrace of her father for the first time in years. She realized she had missed the comfort of his presence, the familiarity of his scent, the feeling of safety – a somewhat foreign feeling to her, being who she was – that he somehow managed to bring her. When he was there, she felt as if everything was going to be all right.

'_Why didn't I come home sooner?'_ she thought to herself.

But deep in the back of her mind, she knew the answer; she'd simply been afraid.

She'd feared that things would be the same as they were before; _horrible._ When she thought of home, all that came to mind were memories of rejection. All she could think of was her evil stepmother, who would only treat her like an absolute _freak,_ making a huge deal out of her fear of spiders. She'd remember how her dad had resented her from the day she was born, and how he had originally tried to give her back to Athena. She would recall how she was fully blamed for the monsters that invaded their home every night.

Yeah, choosing to live at Camp Half-Blood full time was easily one of the best decisions she had ever made.

But locked in her father's embrace, she could clearly see that, despite all that had happened when she was younger, her dad obviously loved her now. All those letters they'd exchanged while she was at Camp had to mean something. After all, she'd been wearing his college ring around her neck for years.

Maybe things _had_ changed.

Annabeth finally broke out of her dad's arms, and, hand in hand, the two headed home at last.

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

* * *

><p>After greeting her brothers and stepmom, Annabeth closed the door to her room and plopped her suitcase on her bed. She began to unpack, pulling out the contents one by one and placing them in their respective spots. She'd almost reached the bottom of the suitcase when she came across something that made her pause.<p>

Tucked under one of her books was a picture of her with Percy, the two of them grinning widely while standing in front of Thalia's tree with their arms casually around each other's shoulders. It had been taken right after their first quest, and the memory of the moment made her smile.

She picked up the photo and taped it to the wall beside her bed, all the while staring longingly at the boy in the picture.

_Percy._

It had only been a day since they'd seen each other, but she found that she already missed him; she missed seeing his gorgeous eyes and his messy wind-swept hair, and she missed hearing the sound of his voice. She longed to see his face just one more time and tell him that she loved him, but she knew she had to wait until next summer. In her mind, she was already counting down the days...

She suddenly shook her head, snapping herself out of her fantasy.

She couldn't already be homesick for Camp. If she let that get the best of her, then it was surely going to be a long year.

Annabeth put her suitcase away and lay down on her bed, arms folded over her chest.

Try as she did, she found that she simply _couldn't_ keep Percy off her mind. Her eyes kept flitting to the picture on the wall, and every time she glanced in that direction, her heart would fill with longing.

_Gods dang it, Percy, why do you have to be so darn adorab-_

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an unusual sound.

Upon realizing what it was, Annabeth shot upright so fast she nearly fell off her bed.

Her cell phone was ringing.

Her _emergency_ cell phone was _ringing._

That couldn't be good.

Annabeth jumped off her bed and raced over to her desk where her cell phone lay sitting. She grabbed the phone with trembling hands and lifted it to her ear.

"H-hello?" she asked, trying to conceal the shakiness of her voice.

"Hello? Annabeth?" a familiar voice sounded on the other end of the line.

Annabeth's heart skipped a beat.

"_Percy?"_

"Yeah, it's me. Hey."

"You Seaweed Brain," she scolded harshly. "You're calling me. You're _calling_ me! What the Hades do you think you're doing? Do you know how many signals we're sending out to the monsters that would just love to kill us right now? We may as well be saying, 'Hey, we're right here!'"

"Yeah, I know," he responded. "Sorry. It's important."

"Why the Hades did you _call_ me, anyway? You could have just used Iris Message!"

"I didn't have a drachma on me."

Annabeth sighed and rolled her eyes.

_Typical Seaweed Brain._

"Well, find a way to _get_ one, because we can't keep communicating like this," she snapped.

"All right, Wise Girl, all right," Percy reassured. "I will."

"You'd better," she said. "Now, what was the super important thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, you know, I'm at home right now, and even though we just saw each other yesterday and all…"

"Yeah?" she questioned.

"I miss you, Annabeth. A lot. I just… I just wanted to tell you that I love you."

That made her pause for a second in surprise.

Here was her Seaweed Brain, doing the exact thing that she had wished to do just moments ago. Of course, she had known better than to act upon her wishes, for she knew using a cell phone could pretty much be the equivalent of committing suicide.

But still… He had called and taken that big risk just to tell her he loved her.

She couldn't help but admit that that was honestly _adorable._

"I… I love you too, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said into the phone with a smile on her face and a warm blush growing on her cheeks. "Gods, I love you."

"Sorry that I had to call," he apologized again, "but I just had to say that. I couldn't stop thinking about you and it was driving me insane."

The smile on Annabeth's face grew wider.

"Yeah?" she asked. "Me too, Percy. I miss you so much. I can already tell that this year isn't going to go by fast enough."

"You could say that again."

Annabeth laughed into the phone, but quickly stopped when she realized she had been talking with Percy for a full ten minutes.

"Hey, Percy?" she said. "As much as I hate to say this, we should probably hang up now before we have monsters right outside our doors."

"Yeah, we probably should," he answered, his voice taking on a hint of sadness.

Neither of them knew what to say next, so an awkward silence lingered for a moment or two until Percy decided to speak.

"I love you, Wise Girl," he repeated again. "See you next summer."

"See you, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. "I can't wait."

There was a pause, and then the line clicked on the other end.

She put the cell phone back down and sighed.

While making her way back to her bed, her eyes once again made their way to the picture on the wall.

Annabeth studied the 12-year-old Percy, and couldn't help but think about how much he hadn't changed; he was still the same old silly, stupid, adorable, amazing Seaweed Brain he had always been. And she loved him for it.

She smiled and touched her fingertips to the boy in the picture.

_Only 259 more days until I get to see you again…_


	5. Five Golden Rings

**A/N: Hey guys! Happy BAKE COOKIES DAY and NATIONAL ROAST SUCKLING PIG DAY (DEC. 18)! **

**Here's day 5. Sorry this one's later than usual; you can blame that on the horrible thing known as "exams". But never fear, for my Christmas break starts after tomorrow, so I can get in some more writing time then!**

**Anyway, this one-shot takes place somewhere between TLO and TLH. Hope you enjoy!**

**Peace out,**

**~silentwolf111**

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

_~ Five Golden Rings ~_

.oOo.

* * *

><p><strong>-Annabeth's POV-<strong>

"Have you seen Percy?" I asked for what seemed like the millionth time.

As so many others had done before, Chiron shook his head no.

"Sorry, Annabeth," he said. "I haven't seen him anywhere. But if I happen to come across him, I'll be sure to tell him that you're looking for him."

I sighed in frustration, for this was the same answer I had been hearing all day.

"Thanks again, Chiron," I said as I turned to leave the Big House.

I had spent the past hour desperately looking for Percy. He'd missed out on all of his activities and hadn't bothered to clean up Cabin 3 for cabin inspection. When a few other campers and I went to check up on him, we found that he had simply _vanished_ from his cabin.

We had already searched the majority of Camp, but still Percy was nowhere to be found; he wasn't at the beach, the Big House, or the canoe lake. He wasn't training in the arena. When I asked other campers if they'd seen him, the answer was always a no. According to Grover, Percy didn't even show up for breakfast.

Seaweed Brain missing out on food?

I think it's only fitting that we were all pretty concerned.

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

* * *

><p>After another hour of searching, I finally found him quietly sitting by Zeus's fist, his head in his arms.<p>

"So this is where you've been," I said, causing him to look up at me in surprise. "I've been looking for you all day."

"Really?" he said. "Gods, sorry, Annabeth. Well, at least you found me now."

I sat down next to him and crossed my legs as he leaned back against the rocks.

"So," I said, "There's got to be a reason that you've temporarily detached yourself from the world. What exactly have you been up to?"

Percy sighed and focused on something in the distance.

"Nothing much. Just… _thinking_," he said.

"You don't sound too happy," I observed. "Something on your mind?"

He turned toward me and took a deep breath.

"I had this important decision to make," he said slowly, "and I'm just nervous about it. That's all."

I crossed my arms.

"A decision? What decision?"

"Well," Percy said, "actually, it kinda involves you."

"Yeah?" I questioned. "Care to tell me how?"

"Stand up and you'll see."

I did as he asked and stood while Percy shifted from his position on the ground.

When he had finally settled, I realized that he was down on one knee.

Now _that_ caught me by surprise.

"My gods, Seaweed Brain," I said, looking at him curiously. "Don't you think it's a bit too early to propose?"

"Just hear me out," he said, waving his hand dismissively.

He took a breath.

"Annabeth Chase, from the moment you told me that I drool in my sleep, I have always had the biggest crush on you."

"Really now?" I interrupted, my eyebrow raised and a playful smile on my face.

"Shut up and let me finish the speech," he blushed and shot me a look. "Jeez, you weren't kidding when you said you were never going to make things easy for me, were you? I had it all memorized and everything. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah; I've always had the biggest crush on you."

He cleared his throat and continued.

"I had _the_ biggest crush. I always thought you were pretty amazing to begin with; I thought you were gorgeous, great in combat, and knew a thing or two about… well, pretty much _everything._ But as we got to know each other more, I realized that my feelings for you were getting stronger. Now, after everything that's happened over the past few years, I can finally say with confidence that what I feel for you is more than just a crush; I _love_ you, Annabeth. I love you so much."

Percy then pulled out a small box from his back pocket and opened it to reveal a golden ring.

"So, Wise Girl, what do you say? Will you be my girlfriend?"

Despite his sweetness, I just couldn't resist the urge to mess with my Seaweed Brain a bit more.

I smirked at him.

"Does 1.7724 equal the square root of pi?"

As expected, Percy paused in hesitation and blinked cluelessly.

"I don't know," he said, clearly confused. "Does it?"

I let out a laugh and threw my arms around him.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain," I said with a grin. "It does."

He just blinked again.

"So… is that a yes?"

I planted a light kiss on his cheek.

"That is a _Hades_ yes," I replied. "Do you really think that, after all we've been through together, I would say no? Of course I'll be your girlfriend, Seaweed Brain."

Percy smiled back at me.

"Good," he said, taking the ring out of the box and gently slipping it on my finger. "That's relieving to hear."

Once the ring was on my finger, he sighed.

"It's official now," he noted, a smile on his face.

I brought my hand up to my face and took a closer look at the new ring displayed on my finger. It was made of a thin, delicate gold, expertly crafted into a flawless loop. Implanted in the middle of the ring was a tiny piece of red coral. The whole thing was simple yet so elegant; it was just right for me.

"It's beautiful," I said in awe. "But where did you get this? You haven't left Camp all summer."

"My dad sent me the coral and I had a few Hephaestus kids make the ring," he explained. "They did a pretty good job, didn't they?"

"Yeah, they sure did," I said. "Thanks, Percy. You know, as matter of fact, I'm surprised you didn't ask me to be your girlfriend sooner. It's about time we made this official."

Suddenly, a voice behind us said, "I'm so glad you agree."

We whipped around to find a large group of campers emerge from the woods, quietly observing us while wearing identical smirks. Standing at the front of the group was my brother Malcolm, flanked by the Stoll brothers on either side.

I felt my face turn bright red with embarrassment as Percy rolled his eyes.

"Again? Really?" he questioned. "How long have you guys been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear every word of that speech," Malcolm said, hands on his hips.

"What are you waiting for, Percy?" Travis asked with a grin, gesturing urgently with his hand. "Like the Little Mermaid song says, you gotta kiss the girl."

Percy turned toward me and cupped my cheek in his hand.

"Shall we?" he asked, lips turned upward in a smile.

"I think we shall," I replied, returning his smile.

We lingered there for a moment, lips slowly inching toward each other until they finally collided into a firm kiss. We wrapped our arms around each other, resulting in simultaneous "Aww"-s from the many Aphrodite campers in the group of eavesdroppers.

As we pulled away from the kiss, Percy looked at me thoughtfully.

"I love you, girlfriend," he said, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Love you too, boyfriend," I said.

_Boyfriend._

I smiled when I said that. The word was almost alien to me, yet I found that it rolled right off the tongue. It felt somewhat strange to refer to Percy as my boyfriend; I guess it felt different, but in a good way.

Nevertheless, I think it's a feeling that I could learn to get used to.


	6. Six Geese A-Laying

**A/N: Hey everyone! Happy LOOK FOR AN EVERGREEN DAY and OATMEAL MUFFIN DAY (DEC. 19)!**

**So, we have officially reached the halfway point of this story! That was fast. I'm sorry to say that this one-shot isn't exactly my best work, though; it was kinda hard to find something to write about that related to geese. **

**Nevertheless, I hope you're still able to enjoy this chapter! Similarly to the last one, I figure this one takes place sometime between TLO and TLH.**

**Peace out,**

**~silentwolf111**

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

_~ Six Geese A-Laying ~_

.oOo.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third Person POV-<strong>

"Now, everyone," Chiron said, pacing back and forth across the arena as he addressed the various campers gathered there. "This training session is going to be a little bit different than usual. You see, I have a fun activity planned out for us."

Clarisse raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Yeah?" she questioned. "What kind of activity?"

Chiron only smiled in response.

"We're going to play a game."

This caused soft murmurs amongst the campers; it wasn't often that they played a game, and they were interested to see what this game had to offer.

As Clarisse opened her mouth to question Chiron once more, he held up a hand and cut her off.

"Before you ask what game we're going to be playing, let me just establish that, in my opinion, this game is rather fun."

"Fun for us, or fun for _you?"_ Connor Stoll muttered under his breath, crossing his arms.

"No need to worry about that, Mr. Stoll; I think you will find this game to be entertaining enough for _all_ of us," Chiron replied, a strange twinkle in his eye. "After all, madly running for your life while being chased by someone with a deadly weapon is pretty entertaining, is it not?"

After a brief moment of silence, Drew Tanaka gulped.

"Madly running for our _what_ now?" she asked nervously.

When he saw the looks of hesitation that the campers' faces had shifted into, Chiron merely chuckled.

"Worry not, campers," he reassured. "This game isn't what you think it is."

"Then what _is_ it?" Clarisse demanded, clearly impatient. "For the love of Zeus, just tell us already."

"As you wish," Chiron said. "We are going to be playing _'Duck, Duck, Goose'_."

That caught everyone by surprise.

"Hold on," Will Solace spoke up, looking questioningly at Chiron. "Did I just hear you correctly? Because I could have sworn on the Styx that you just said we would be playing a children's game."

"That is indeed correct," Chiron said. "However, I have made a few modifications to the game to suit our tastes."

He cleared his throat and continued.

"The basic rules will remain the same. And I'm assuming you all are familiar with the basic rules of _'Duck, Duck, Goose'?"_ he asked.

Everyone sighed in frustration when Pollux sheepishly raised his hand and stated that he had never played the game.

Chiron quieted them down with another wave of his hand.

"It's all right," he said. "I'll provide you with a brief explanation. The rules of the game are simple enough; you will all sit in a circle facing each other. One person is 'it' and walks around the circle, tapping everyone's heads and labeling them as either a 'duck' or a 'goose'. Once someone is labeled as a goose, they must get up and chase 'it' around the circle in an attempt to tag them."

He cleared his throat and continued.

"In _my_ version of the game, however, you all will be equipped with your weapons – with the exception of 'it', who will have to fend for himself by simply outrunning the 'goose'."

This statement caused another round of murmurs from the campers.

"So you're saying that whoever's 'it' is pretty much defenseless?" Katie Gardner asked.

"Yes," Chiron answered, the twinkle in his eyes returning. "Just about. You see, it will help with your speed and agility in the long run. Also, it will stimulate the dangers of getting chased by a monster – for we all know that _that_ tends to happen often, considering who you are. I simply felt that expressing this in the form of a game would be more fun."

"All right," Clarisse said, looking at him curiously. "Sounds good so far. What's the catch?"

Now the suspicious gleam in Chiron's eyes was impossible to be missed.

"Failure to outrun the 'goose' will result in the responsibility of helping out with the dishes for a week," he stated simply, a hint of a smile on his face.

The campers let out simultaneous groans, to which Chiron only chuckled.

"There's some motivation for you, aside from the possibility of getting torn into shreds," he mused. "Now, let's get started; circle up, everyone."

They formed a circle on the floor of the arena, weapons out and on their laps.

"Who's going to be 'it'?" Travis Stoll asked.

Chiron briefly examined the group of campers until his eyes fell on one camper in particular.

"Ah, Percy," he said. "Why don't you do the honors?"

The boy in question froze when he heard his name and pointed to himself, as if to say, "_Me?"_

"Yes, you," Chiron confirmed. "Stand up and start us off, will you?"

It was clear that Percy was nervous as he lay his sword down in the middle of the circle and rose to his feet.

He took a breath, then started walking around the circle slowly, tapping each person's head as he passed them.

"Duck," he said as he tapped Clarisse's head.

He moved on to the next person, who happened to be Katie.

"Duck," Percy repeated.

Will Solace was also labeled a duck, as were Drew, Pollux, Travis, and Clovis.

"Would you hurry it up?" Connor said as Percy labeled him as a duck. "You're running out of people to choose from. Make up your mind!"

Percy had almost made it around the entire circle when his hand suddenly came to rest above the head of a certain blonde.

He paused for a moment in hesitation, then tapped the head of Annabeth Chase.

"Goose," he stated.

Annabeth looked up at him with a light smirk.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she said as she started to stand up, knife in hand.

Percy took that as his cue to start running.

He sprinted around the circle of campers once, twice, then three times, Annabeth at his heels the entire time.

"Seaweed Brain," she called out to him. "Why are you still running? You've been around the circle three times. Stop running and sit down in my spot!"

Percy turned around and gave her a mischievous smile.

"You know what? Not just yet," he said, suddenly making a sharp turn as he sprinted toward the arena entrance and out the door, to the surprise of Chiron and the other campers.

Annabeth rolled her eyes in frustration yet decided to follow him anyway.

"_Seaweed Brain!"_

She ended up chasing him for a good ten minutes as he ran throughout Camp, whooping with laughter all the way. Percy wound himself through the cabins and circled once around the Mess Hall, Annabeth one step behind him the entire time while clutching her knife.

She followed him all the way to the beach, where she finally decided she'd had enough.

It was then that she stopped holding back; Annabeth ran forward with a burst of energy and collided into the backside of Percy with full force, sending the two of them tumbling down onto the sand.

She leaned over Percy and pinned his arms and legs to the ground, holding her knife just above his neck.

"I win," she said with a grin.

Percy groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I guess you do," he grumbled playfully as Annabeth set her knife back down and helped him sit up.

When the two of them were settled, she turned to look at him.

"What the Hades was that?" she questioned, eyebrow raised. "You made me chase you throughout the entire Camp for no reason whatsoever."

"I wanted to make things harder for you," Percy said, a sly look on his face. "But I probably should have known that it wouldn't work, since you're such a Wise Girl and all."

"You got that right," Annabeth replied with a grin. "Besides, making things hard is _my_ job. Speaking of which, seeing how you couldn't outrun me, I believe you have some dishes to do."

The smile wiped right off Percy's face as he remembered Chiron's words.

He made a face at Annabeth.

"You'll really never make things easy for me, will you?" he grumbled.

She laughed and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Of course not. And you'd better get used to it, Seaweed Brain, because that's not changing anytime soon."


	7. Seven Swans A-Swimming

**A/N: Hey everyone! Super sorry that I didn't update yesterday; I spent the whole day out and couldn't get any writing time in. Sorry about that!**

**Anywho, here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy!**

**Oh, and I almost forgot: Happy FOREFATHER'S DAY, HUMBUG DAY, NATIONAL FLASHLIGHT DAY, AND LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE DAY (DEC. 21)! Heh. National _Flashlight_ Day and Look on the _Bright_ Side day? Do you get it? ;)**

**If you couldn't tell, I just love puns.**

**Peace out,**

**~silentwolf111**

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

_~ Seven Swans A-Swimming ~_

.oOo.

* * *

><p><strong>-Percy's POV-<strong>

You know, I really love summer.

And honestly, if you ask me, why shouldn't I? There's so many great things to look forward to; no school, going back to Camp, awesome weather, delicious ice cream – did I mention _no school? _There's nothing like spending the days going to the beach and the nights laying under the stars.

But, sadly, most awesome things have their drawbacks, and summers are no exception.

For instance, summers in New York don't usually get too hot, but there's always those days when Apollo does a bit _too _good of a job and you feel like you're going to melt into a puddle at any given moment.

Yeah, this day was one of _those_ days, and let just tell you this; it pretty much sucked.

Nobody at Camp felt like doing anything, with the exception of the Apollo kids who were pretty much as normal as ever. The rest of us basically spent the day miserably moping around and frantically trying to find ways to cool ourselves down.

And boy, did we try _everything._

We went from eating ice cubes to sticking our heads in the Big House refrigerator and even went so far as to pray to Aeolus for a cool breeze. As expected, nothing we tried worked, and we were stuck right where we were before; hot and miserable.

After countless hours of failure, it was Connor's idea to jump into the canoe lake.

"Cannonball!" he yelled as he sprinted toward the lake and dove in without a moment's hesitation.

The rest of us happily followed, and before we knew it the place had turned into a full-blown pool party.

It was then that I noticed a certain camper slowly inching herself into the water a few feet away from us. She had her back turned to me and was clearly oblivious to the fact that I was there; obviously, I figured I could use this to my advantage.

With a smirk, I swam over to her and willed a small wave of water to completely drench her before she could fully get into the lake.

She let out a small shriek of surprise before whipping around and catching sight of me.

"You Seaweed Brain," Annabeth spluttered, her clothes and hair dripping with water as she glared at me. "Was that really necessary? I was just about to get in anyway!"

"Sorry," I said with a grin, "but you know me. I just couldn't resist. And, to answer your question, that was _totally_ necessary."

She narrowed her eyes at me, then suddenly displayed a smug smile on her face.

"Oh, it's on now," she said simply.

Before I could realize what I'd gotten myself into, Annabeth dove into the lake, swam up to me, and promptly dunked me under the water.

It all happened so fast that I forgot I had the ability to breathe underwater; I soon figured that out, though, and quickly resurfaced in a matter of seconds.

I grinned at Annabeth once I'd reached the surface.

"Son of Poseidon, remember?" I said, to which she rolled her eyes.

"You think I care?" she replied with a laugh.

She dragged her arm across the water and splashed me in the face.

Fortunately, I remembered my son-of-Poseidon powers this time, so I was pretty much unaffected by the splash.

_Un_fortunately, Travis Stoll noticed our little exchange of attacks, and his face soon lit up with a huge grin.

"Water fight!" he yelled happily, catching the attention of the other campers in the lake.

The air was still for a brief moment as everyone considered what he'd just said.

And then all Hades broke loose.

Water went flying everywhere and laughter rang in the air as everyone turned against each other. At some point during the chaos, someone had even filled up a ton of water balloons that were constantly being launched at people like grenades.

I just stood in the middle of it all, laughing along with the rest of them as Annabeth and I splashed water at each other and threw the occasional water balloon. I had chosen not to will myself dry, since the cool water felt super refreshing against my hot, sticky skin.

And, besides, let's face it; I was having _way_ too much fun.

The water fight was at its peak when suddenly the water stopped flying everywhere, and everyone immediately stopped firing water balloons at each other.

I frowned.

"Is it over?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence that had befallen the area.

I caught the eye of Travis Stoll, who had started to make his way toward me, water balloon in hand.

"I guess you could say that it's over," he said, a mischievous smirk on his face. "for _you._"

He nodded to the other campers who I'd just noticed had formed a circle around Annabeth and I, each holding a water balloon.

Realization hit me that they had all formed a sort of silent pact against us, and suddenly I was aware of what was about to come next.

"Get them!" Travis commanded, and Annabeth and I found ourselves pelted with water balloons from all directions.

I quickly pulled Annabeth underwater with me to escape the water balloons, instinctively making an air bubble around the both of us so we could just stay there for a while.

"Ganging up on us, huh?" I said to her with a laugh. "That seems pretty low."

"Ah, they were probably just jealous," she replied.

"Of what?"

"Of what a great team we make."

That made me pause for a second in thought, and I smiled at her.

"You know what?" I asked.

"What?"

"You're absolutely right."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at me.

"Of course I'm right, Seaweed Brain," she said matter-of-factly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, Wise Girl," I said, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. "You tell me."

In the spur of the moment, I closed my eyes and pulled her closer to me, pressing my lips against hers.

We stayed like that for a while, our arms around each other as we kissed at the bottom of the lake. I knew everyone above us was probably starting to get a bit worried, but I didn't care. As long as I had Annabeth, I could really care less about anything else; when she was with me, she was all that mattered.

I don't know how long we stayed under there, but I do know one thing:

It was the second-best underwater kiss of all time.


	8. Eight Maids A-Milking

**A/N: Hey guys! Happy FESTIVUS and ROOTS DAY (DEC. 23)!**

**Hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

**Peace out,**

**~silentwolf111**

* * *

><p>.oOo.<p>

_~ Eight Maids A-Milking ~_

.oOo.

* * *

><p><strong>-Annabeth's POV-<strong>

"All right," Percy said as he opened the kitchen cupboard and grabbed a cookbook. "Let's see if there's anything good in here."

I stood next to him as he flipped through the pages of the book, thinking about the last couple of hours we had spent together.

The two of us had agreed earlier to meet up at Percy's apartment to catch a movie and hang out for a while; it was around Christmas time and school was off for the both of us, so we figured, why not? We had just finished a wonderful dinner of pizza (of course) when Percy had pointed out that there was something missing – dessert.

Unfortunately, when we scanned the pantry, there was nothing sweet in sight. There was no candy, or cookies, or ice cream, or anything that contained any sugar to be seen. And, honestly, I'm not that surprised; knowing Seaweed Brain, he'd probably already eaten it all.

So the two of us had taken it upon ourselves to fix up some dessert to satisfy our – well, mostly Percy's – sweet tooth.

Percy turned page after page of the cookbook, reading out the names of several different recipes.

"You want to make oatmeal cookies?" he asked.

"Nah," I replied. "I'm not the biggest fan of oatmeal."

He flipped through a few more pages.

"How about a chocolate soufflé? Raspberry mousse? Or maybe an apple coffee cake?"

"Those sound a bit too fancy," I said. "I feel like we'd mess them up."

He listed off some more desserts, with me offering my opinion and declining every single one.

After a while, Percy stopped turning the pages of the book and looked up at me.

"Fine, then," he said, making a face as he handed me the cookbook. "If you don't like any of those, then _you_ try to find something good."

I examined the book, reading one page after another until I finally came across something that made me stop.

_This seems like it would work…_

"Do you want to make hot chocolate?" I offered, pointing to the recipe in the book.

Percy gave me a thoughtful look.

"Yeah," he said. "Sure. That sounds easy enough."

"Finally," I said. "Something we can actually agree on. Now, it looks like we'll need-"

"Wait, Annabeth," Percy suddenly interrupted, holding his hands up. "I have one question: can we make the hot chocolate blue?"

I rolled my eyes.

_Typical._

"Fine," I said, and his expression instantly morphed into a huge smile.

"Thanks," he grinned, giving me a light hug. "This is going to be great!"

"Well, I hope so," I said as he pulled away from the hug. "Let's get the ingredients out."

I propped the cookbook up against a nearby toaster and looked at the list of ingredients.

"It looks like we're going to need cocoa powder, sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla extract," I read. "And some water, of course."

Percy and I gathered the required ingredients and set them on the table.

As I referenced the cookbook again, Percy suddenly took something out of a nearby cupboard.

"Blue food coloring," he explained as he held up the tiny bottle for me to see. "We can't forget that; it's probably the most important ingredient of all."

He set the bottle on the table, and we began measuring out the ingredients.

"We need 1/3 cup of the cocoa powder," I read from the book.

"Leave that to me," Percy said. "I've got this."

He grabbed the measuring cup and the cocoa powder, slowly pouring the powder into the cup. As the level of cocoa powder neared the 1/3 line, however, Percy's hand suddenly shook, which resulted in us having _way_ more cocoa powder than we needed.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he tried to pour the excess powder in the cup back into its original can. "I'll fix it."

Before we knew it, all the cocoa powder in the cup had found its way onto the floor.

"Whoops," Percy said, a sheepish look on his face.

"Seaweed Brain," I said, grabbing a paper towel in an attempt to clean up the mess. "Now look what you've done."

"See," he said, leaning over to help me. "This is why _you_ should have measured the ingredients."

I gaped at him.

"Oh, come _on!_ You said – and I quote – '_Leave that to me, I've got this.' _I thought I could trust you!"

"You should know better than to trust me," he replied with a mischievous smile. "I thought you of all people should have known that."

"Obviously," I said, and we both turned back to picking the spilled cocoa powder off the floor.

We spent the next half hour measuring the rest of the ingredients (well, by _we, _I really mean _me;_ we didn't want any more little accidents happening), adding blue food coloring, and boiling the cocoa. After we had somehow gotten everything all ready, we poured ourselves two mugs of cocoa and sat down in the living room.

"That was supposed to take _seven_ minutes, according to the cookbook," I said. "It took us a full half hour. That's more than four times the amount of time it should have taken."

"Well, life's harder when you're a demigod; ADHD and all that," Percy said, taking a sip of cocoa. "But, half hour or not, I think it was totally worth it; this stuff is _awesome."_

When he set his mug down and looked up at me, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Wow, Seaweed Brain," I said. "That's a pretty fancy blue milk mustache you're sporting there."

As expected, Percy's hands suddenly flew to his lip as he tried not to blush.

"Shut up," he said as he rubbed his mouth with his sleeve. "Is it gone now?"

I tilted my head and looked.

"Not completely," I said, "There's still a little left. But I think I can help you with that."

I set down my mug and leaned in, pressing my lips against Percy's warm ones.

When we pulled back, I smacked my lips together, still tasting the faint flavor of hot cocoa on his lips.

"Wow, you're right," I observed. "This _does_ taste pretty awesome."

"I told you so," he said as I took a sip from my mug.

When I swallowed the cocoa and looked back up at him, he let out a laugh.

"Looks like I started a trend," he said, "because now _you've_ got a blue milk mustache."

I felt a warm blush grow on my cheeks as I dabbed at my mouth with a paper towel.

"Is it gone?" I asked.

"Hmm…" he said, "not really."

He leaned in and cupped my cheek in his hand.

"But I think I can help you with that."


End file.
